Hobart City Council to officially express its concerns to the State Government about Major Projects Bill

Hobart City Council thinks the State Government’s Major Projects Bill is unnecessary — and now they’ve voted on whether to tell them, officially.

If approved, the legislation would take decisions on major projects out of the hands of local councils. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

HOBART City Council will officially express its concerns to the State Government about proposed laws governing major projects.

If approved, the Liberals’ legislation will take decisions on major projects out of the hands of local councils and put them in the hands of Independent Development Assessment Panels appointed by the Tasmanian Planning Commission.

At a special meeting on Monday night, Hobart City Council voted 8-4 in favour of a recommendation it should inform the government that the Bill was unnecessary.

The changes would apply to major projects which were high value or complex, or declared as a major project by the Planning Minister or their developers.

Concerns expressed by council officers included the role of the Minister and the potential for political interference in the planning process, and the Bill’s vague definition of what constituted a “significant” project.